Top 50 Best Nintendo DS JRPGs Ever! (Random Order)

This is a list of the 50 best JRPGs released in North America. List is in no particular order.
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[@ErickLandonRPG]

Glory of Heracles looks badass, doesn't it?!?! Hah... Sorry about that, guys, I don't know what happened there. Probably a glitch during rendering :/

[@elbravovierde8010]

The cover art sure looks nice!!!!

[@archersomit2026]

Can you a make all ds rpg game ranking in tier ...I love your tier ranking video..thank you .. I would love to see it..

[@sultanbaba1230]

did i miss radiant historia or didnt you include it? :O

[@jaypayne4744]

@@sultanbaba1230 22:39 it’s listed as #5. You made me super curious so I dug through and found it. I would have been very surprised if it wasn’t here, what a fantastic game! Have a great day!

[@ja1799]

This video came at the perfect time. I got my headphones in, I'm about to start a giant pile of paperwork. You're the man Eric

[@JAUSCR]

Estaba esperando por un vídeo así actualizado, gracias!

[@PloysMaw]

Solid list a couple of games I love on the DS are 'Spectrobes' and 'Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.' both games I don't hear people talking about.

[@Diamoondust]

beyond the portals specifically because the original wasnt that good tbh

[@OmegaMetroid93]

Nice, going to save this for my walk later. Loving all these videos, Erick!

[@eduardonpenna2608]

Damn devil survivor ost hits hard

[@alexmorpheus6762]

DeSu 2 especially

[@Agostoic]

I've been waiting on this one, thanks Erick!👌

[@thomasmacdonough288]

Just dug out my old DS, looking for some JRPGs I missed, this couldn't have come at a better time

[@tommj4365]

Awesome video, I was just wondering if a ds tier list was ever created, this is pretty close though, thanks :)

[@chrisschuck249]

Really love these videos Erick, going to watch a couple more times to make a list. you think ull do 3ds and Vita soon? would love that. I know its alot of work, we all appreaciate very much. take care Erick!!

[@bowiefan80]

Great video! But if i may correct you with one little thing: You said that the male/female protagonist of the game Magical Starsign will always be light, but that's not true. You can choose your protagonist at the very beginning and then you can either take the light (easier mode) or the dark element (harder mode). I know it for sure because i'm playing this very funny game the moment xD

[@embermonkey]

god devil survivor's music is so good I will never get sick of it thanks for the video, good stuff

[@gusbus12345678]

Amazing video, thank you for sharing your impressive knowledge of the DS!

[@JoJoboiWav]

Izuna looks incredible, I'm happy to find a game similar to PMD Sky thank you

[@chronofantasy1987]

Haven't watched this yet. Just opened the video but from what I had recorded down on my list of RPGs on the DS there was about 65 RPGs on this system and for myself personally I beat 61/65 of these games. Possibly there's a few more which I missed but with a top 50 you're only really not listing a small number of games. It's a shame you couldn't do a video ranking all the rpgs on the ds instead since I watched your ps3 rpg ranking video and I really enjoyed it despite some of our preferences being different. One of my suggestions as I hope you'll do more of those videos but perhaps you're still waiting to play all the RPGs on another console first.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

Drone Tactics is a great example of doing something new with something classic, they took the awesome playstyle of Super Robot Wars and replaced the overuse of licenses with simple bugs, ingenius.

[@rionugroho1403]

Solid list as always man 😎🤘

[@franciscohidalgo6486]

Thanks Erick! I just recently got a 3ds ❣️

[@dawnyfrogmouth]

Thank you so much for this video! This was EXACTLY what I was after.

[@sleepsee5541]

played most of these man, great list!

[@BigWill99]

Had a random Nostalgia hit for Lunar Knights, but Couldn't think of the name to save my life thanks for helping me track it down again 👍

[@fishmeister2625]

Playing through Nostalgia now, great fun. Arguably a little easy and linear but definitely worth a play.

[@Cookiedon15]

Cool. The DS had a lot of great RPGs. On the subject of Nintendo handhelds, have you made a Gameboy/Gameboy Color RPG list?

[@luke3810]

I just started TWEWY on my dsi last week! Currently on day 4 but man, I am loving it so far! Admittedly the combat is pretty complex but I enjoy it nonetheless!

[@kosterix123]

I couldn't figure out the combat, sold it and good riddance.

[@aetherfaust5907]

@@kosterix123 aww too bad, you can just ignore the top screen tbh it would go auto by itself, only when it's on Puck Rally would need you focus on both screens.

[@tchelikdabril9628]

Just to be save from confusion. The gameplay footage for Strange Journey is from the 3DS version, Redux, instead of the DS (OG) one.

[@melvicxamiergabion7238]

i finally find my goal: to finish all these this games on your list

[@theelike4302]

Magical Star Sign is one of my favorite hidden gems on the nds. There is a fan translation of Magical Vacation floating around the internet and I'd recommend it if you liked Star Sign.

[@Danoxis]

Chrono trigger is to this day my favorite game of all time and I've been trying to find a physical copy of the ds version for weeks

[@Kaitou1412Fangirl]

Chrono Trigger is so good! It's always nice to hear JRPG fans- and other gamers- talk about their favorites.

[@Char_009]

Great video and I would add Final Fantasy Tactics A2 to the list.

[@julieb3240]

You have no idea what a godsend these videos are. Thanks for all your research!!!

[@user-ql2vd2fe2f]

Nice, thanks for video!

[@TBoneTony]

We were so lucky with the Dragon Quest games on the Nintendo DS, we got Dragon Quest 9 that was a newer version of the series as well as classic games like Dragon Quest 4, Dragon Quest 5 and Dragon Quest 6. Even better with Chrono Trigger getting a PAL release for the first time since the SNES version was only released as far as North America into the west. I got the Final Fantasy Advance games like FF4 Advance, FF5 Advance and FF6 Advance so I didn't bother with the DS versions of FF3 and FF4 but would have been nice if those Final Fantasy games were released on the DS or 3DS especially FF5 and FF6 that could have used the power of the Nintendo 3DS. Thankfully we did get Fire Emblem Echos that is a remake of the 2nd Fire Emblem game on the 3DS.

[@fancyevil351]

Why dragon quest 8 have way better graphics than dragon quest 9?

[@axle4060]

@@fancyevil351 because 8 is on ps2 and 9 is on the ds

[@stashmerkin9576]

Excellent list! I'd add Wizard of Oz Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. Such an unnoticed game! It's a straight-up XSeed JRPG with a Wizard of Oz theme.

[@pdraggy]

Appreciate!! This video must have taken you SO long to compose.

[@N5O1]

18:12 I loved this game, I didn't even know that there is an entire series of atelier games

[@RR-ho3td]

@ErickLandonRPG TWEWY has one of the best storylines and characters imo. Very much relatable just like the Persona series characters. I would agree that the battle system is not for everyone. It takes time to get used to especially if you're familiar with traditional jrpg battle systems. I loved the music much much more than the Persona 3 and 4 soundtrack. I guess the game would be right there with Yggdra Union for you. Both of these games would be in my Top 10. But, that's the beauty of jrpgs! It's open to everyone's interpretation. Thanks for all the recommendations Erick! I actually started Odin Sphere thanks to you. 😁

[@pijinio]

I 100% agree with your awesome list, Thanks dude

[@diddliduddli2835]

thx for this list, i love it :]

[@canisblack]

I was honestly surprised to see Digimon Dawn/Dusk. I love the games, but I'm very much aware that the main draw is the franchise license and not the actual gameplay.

[@Perembel]

Super! So many cool games I'd probably never know

[@AnotherTwilightGuy]

I really hope you do a ranking video for all of the Vita RPGs soon! =)

[@arlekino0792]

Thanks for recommendations

[@avarpg6140]

I just bought rhapsody a musical adventure for 21$! Can’t wait to play it!

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

14:19 The pronunciation is technically Three Five Eight Days Over Two 👀

[@davidjohnston6547]

I got lucky I picked up a copy of Pokemon White from a local use game shop last year, all the paperwork was with it, not a tear in anything, looks almost brand new. Paid $35 for it. Also have DQ 4,5,6 and 9, been a fan of that series since I played Dragon Warrior on the NES. Have Children of Mana, and Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (an ok game). I do like the Etrian Odyssey game, I have the 3DS remake. I have way too many games across PC (Steam), 3DS, Switch, PSP, PSVita, PS3 and PS4, and not enough time to play all of them.

[@MTG69]

Having a backlog is a nice problem to have.

[@cainschamber]

Tysm, I love ds games!!

[@R.Williams]

Great memories! I have all of these games except Bleach and Dragon Ball Z as I had no interest in them. However, I haven't finished very many of them. Izuna I loved but couldn't finish Izuna 2. It was even harder! I also loved Radiant Historia and the Shin Megami series. I also loved The World Ends With You though I wasn't used to the action initially. I'm amazed I finished it. Loved the story! I keep thinking I should sell my collection but it's hard to give them up. Thanks for the video Erick!

[@AlexXD-fu6th]

Radiant Historia is incredible man❤

[@MTG69]

Don't sell, you'll regret it later on.

[@riggo6830]

So many gems! Thank you!

[@whoisthis01]

Please add timestamps to your lists, it makes navigation much easier.

[@Jp-gc6bh]

Had to skip over the Valkyrie profile one lololol, didn’t wanna risk a spoiled. Been playing it for a few days and I’m going for the a ending, games hard as balls lolol

[@survivalhorrorspecialist3138]

Hey man you forgot about Lufia, great remake in my opinion

[@Ramon4L]

I really liked final fantasy tactics advance 2 on the ds, was always hoping for a sequel on 3ds...

[@N5O1]

6:10 TWEWY is the first game which soundtrack I listened separatly on repeat for long period of time, even now I sometime turn it on to remember childhood

[@andropolog]

Did I miss it or shiren did not included on the list? Izuna is beautifull though. I hope she will appear again with her silly quest

[@Relisoc]

Ever heard of Lostmagic? tbh i don't think you would love it based on your tastes, but i think you would find its concept interesting. It's sort of like a FFXii revenant wings combat system where you enslave monsters and control them RTS style, but the main feature is drawing magical symbols on the bottom screen to cast spells with the main character. Really unique game

[@AlastorShadow0]

Wait I thought you didn't play pokemon Eric landon? Who's list is this? Also didn't Matrix Software make the Final Fantasy remakes on DS?

[@quackywhackityphillyb.3005]

perfect timing for me

[@JD-yn5gc]

looking to emulate DS games this is perfect

[@CJ9007]

Good video bro

[@travisfield9769]

just found my radiant historia and sands of destruction, about to go a few rounds with my ds again

[@rafadono]

Great video as always, it seems I still have a lot to play on the ds

[@tommj4365]

Yea I'm like: 50 top jrpgs, just how many ARE there? I do have and played through Children of Mana and thought it was kinda crap, so maybe all these 50 games aren't great :]

[@necromancermareful481]

after watching this video I feel Like Chrono Trigger should be in the Switch and if your going to enhance it use the Octopath engine no need to change the story

[@Inuminas]

TWEWY is one of the best RPGs I have ever played, it is incredible how the gameplay and story works.

[@Miraihi]

RPG Monger has a great review on TWEWY.

[@aetherfaust5907]

I know this is preeeettty late comment, but i must add this before i got stroke. Have anyone ever tried playing Dungeon Maker? That's also an RPG iirc, creating dungeon to hunt what monster you need.

[@Dhaos620]

Where is you "react" for the new tales of?

[@newgameaaaa]

Can you you a top RPGs with customizable characters?

[@gregfisher9169]

FF Crystal Chronicles and Dragon Quest 9 sound likes games you may like!

[@newgameaaaa]

@@gregfisher9169 Oh yes this is good stuff. I have never played those. Thank you. I know of Dynasty Warriors 5 empires and Phantasy Star Online you can customize your characters.

[@thunderousavenger2382]

Izuna, huh.... Thats a game i guess. A game from the few seconds of gameplay ive seen here, that seems to have a very similar fomular to the pokemon mystery dungeon series, a formular i wanted to see in other games for a long time but never found. I didnt know izuna existed until now. I gotta give this one a try asap.

[@ishtar3676]

My playlist: Laevatein Luminous Arc Valkyrie Profile Radiant Historia

[@emvatomix]

Disgaea ds was a surprise for me.

[@paulofrota3958]

Damn, Nostalgia is SO good ^^

[@Dhaos620]

I'm intersted on this prequel of namco X series

[@KeithKueber]

Lufia curse of the sinistrals was a good action based rpg on the ds.

[@XionSteel]

older video, but im basically looking at ideas for games to try. One now on my radar and I legit didn't know that devil survivor 2 was changed to a turn-based rpg. I only knew of the first game being a brutally hard tactics game so i decided not to play it.

[@Mitch_Garz]

Fantastic Vídeo 👍 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@sterd]

Nino kuni is also are huge hidden gem on ds. Try it if u have spare time.

[@playstationtwo877]

The graphics is worst

[@fancyevil351]

Is nino kuni worth playing on nintendo ds?

[@sterd]

@@fancyevil351 Yeah totally. It's one of the best game experience nds can give you. I mean it can be not the best game on platform but experience is worth a try. This game came earlier than all older consoles so its basicly "original" first ni no kuni (dosnt include story about white whitch). Gameplay itself is tied with "Wizard's Companion" - is a 340-page book. It contains brief descriptions of every Familiar and of all Spells, also including item lists, monster lists, tales of wonder, and other goodies. And its very important because every spell in the game you lern not from game npc but from this book itself. You serch for specific spell and then draw him on touch screen - this is how you learn/use pretty much every skill in the game (in combat you can just use it without drawing). Also game containts some puzzles which can be completed only with this book too such as - ranslate a word on a specific page (this book has its own language and alphabet that allows it to be translated). So basicly this game have this neat little ideas and mechanics whic makes fun experience. So if u have jailbreak your nds/3ds i suggest you at least to try this game (i mean 2 hours of gameplay wouldnt do much harm yea?) But if u didnt hack your nds/3ds then its pretty much impossible for you to play this game because it was released in Japan only. So not only will it not be easy to find the game itself and the book in good condition, it will also be in Japanese in its entirety (which definitely won't make the gameplay comfortable unless you know Japanese). But yeah still worth a try. Also you can watch some footage on youtube for combat itself (if you didnt done it already). See how the game looks, plays, which also affects your "desire" to play it or not. As they say - to each his own - I mean, until you play yourself, you will never know how good/bad the gaming experience is for you. P.s. sorry for bad eng.

[@fancyevil351]

@@sterd I play this game on ds emulator the game itself is pretty fun not gonna lie but the graphics meh look really bad I hope its look a little better too

[@Suleiman2000]

Naruto path of the ninja is also a good jrpg it has 2 instalment for the nds wich both are good

[@thomasjjmurray]

Nostalgia, terrible air battles though

[@rickypham8278]

I like this video, but I would add mega man star force 3 in the list

[@ryuisnopervert]

Thumbnail source?

[@WarpChaos]

Kingdom Hearts is great. It's not overrated.

[@N5O1]

16:00 personaly I think HGSS are the best games for DS and maybe even the best Pokemon games

[@Retrolex1995]

Nobody mentioned the Game Black Sigil it looks like Chrono Trigger

[@guyinapandasuit2691]

Psi-an? Lolol they way you pronounce saiyan is correct. But I've only heard it pronounce Say-yan. Lol

[@Sawngawkuh]

IIRC, the pronunciation was changed to "Say-yan" because one of the old Texan higher ups expressed frustration over saying it the correct way with his thick accent. Kaioken was similarly changed to be "Kay-yo-ken" for a time, but they started properly saying it as "Kai-o-ken" later on. However, "Say-yan" is still retained in the dub because it's just so embedded into the English fandom by now, but FUNi themselves do recognize it's technically wrong. Props to Erick for saying it the right way.

[@bry05]

why no FF Tactics A2?

[@nifftbatuff676]

What does it mean "quest driven"?

[@stellarkym]

More on quests.

[@Rustel17382]

Funny how you used footage from Strange Journey Redux which is a 3ds game and not the original Strange Journey Both are great but the DS version is definitely superior because of it's true narrative

[@TheAleatoriorandom]

Nice!

[@nigele8625]

TWEWY is going to be here

[@breadandicecream]

ive never seen ppl talk abt avalon code in SO LONG

[@islandboy7271]

Heracles gameplay wouldve been nice

[@r4n638]

So uh... Did anyone catch all that? Did anyone wrote notes?

[@Genocidest36]

No smt 4 ?

[@Tofu3435]

That is not a DS game, that is from 3DS

[@stellarkym]

20:50 I honestly don't know your point here. Can someone explain?

[@postalkisuke]

emulation

[@jfc5643]

You don't like Black Sigil? Same for ffta2 ;)

[@thedecembomber]

We actually say 358/2, three five eight over two

[@SugarEthnoherpetological]

idk why so many JRPG fans don't like Pokemon when it has the best battle system of any other JRPG 😅

[@SugarEthnoherpetological]

and AMAZING competitive multiplayer and thousands of fan made games

[@Rustel17382]

'best battle system' I don't think so It cannot be the 'best' when it's like almost every other jrpg Keeping aside online, it's very basic and a huge grindfest, just be a few levels higher and have the right type of Pokemon to win. Really it gets very tiresome to grind through a 20+ hour campaign. Honestly I like Pokemon not for it's gameplay but for it's easy going world, monster catching and the fun tunes it has to offer

[@thunderousavenger2382]

Pokemons battle system is simplistic at most. And the grind is horrid. Im looking at you tedious EV grind, IV breeding, nature capturing and ability breeding or capturing. Egg move breeding. Not that i care about these things as i can easily cheat EVs IVs in pokemon blaze black 2 redux and storm silver, and in unbound i can simply freely edit everything about a pokemon. However. Where it starts to shine is in competitive online play (im not talking about the actual games screw them) or pokemon unbound/radical red (these two romhacks thanks to the custom made CFRU engine greatly enhancing the ai) Alas, the true nature where pokemon becomes good is due to the many different strategies one can employ, counters, and outside battle customization etc etc. The base games are a total stink fest tho. Only suitable for little kids.

[@doutorgori327]

Everyone praise The World Ends with You. But, I also couldn't get into it.

[@koptjager1386]

Sola to robo .. need a sequel baldy😭😭😭

[@AniQlex]

Bro I want games like megaman starforce, megaman battle network(gba),madabot(gba), Pokemon,digimon somthing like this 👀 search for hours and cannot find relevant or similar to this games (I think I like games which is like control a thing to play like Pokemon)

[@bernerdchen]

one step from eden is definitely like battle network.

[@claudiaberruecos]

Where are final fantasy chronicles rings of fates ?

[@tommj4365]

Would it be in your top 50?

[@claudiaberruecos]

@@tommj4365 yes, both are good action RPGS